Tiltable measuring dispenser



Dec. Z9, 1964 s. F. CHAPPELL 3,153,335

TILTABLE MEASURING DISPENSER Filed April 27, 1962 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR. 5702) C/SPPEL Z424-, 772W@ JM Dec. 29, 1964 s. F. CHAPPELL TILTABLE MEASURING DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 27, 1962 INVENTOR.

57019) E C//i/OPELL United States Patent O 3,163,335 TILTABLE NEASURING DISPENSER Story F. Chappeii, 9 Knoll St., Riverside, Conn.

Filed Apr. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 1%,662 7 Claims. (Ci. Z22- 455)l This invention relates to dispensers and in particular to dispensers which are suitable for use with a container of thick or viscous liquid, such as a detergent and soap.

Liquid detergents and soaps are now packaged in containers which may readily be used with dispensers which provide a consistent measured dose (within tolerances acceptable to the trade). However, as far as it is known, no adequate dispenser without a number of moving parts is available which will meet the needs of these thick heavy liquids. The only known automatic dispensing devices for these containers are'those which are primarily intended for use with thin watery type liquids such as liquors and hair tonic.

In order to use rnost liquid detergents properly and economically, it is necessary that only a definite and measured amount of detergent be used in making each quantity of solution. Heretofore, the standard means of measuring the correct amount of liquid detergent has been to till a measuring cap.V Such a measuring operation is cumbersome and messy as well as being a nuisance to the user.

Some dispensers designed for use with thin and watery types of liquids have delicate moving parts which are quicklyclogged by thick, heavy, viscous liquids such as detergents. Still others have movingl parts that remain exposed to the air between uses. Such dispensersV with easily clogged or air-exposed moving parts become tightly sealed, and the moving parts rozem by a dried -or caked lm of detergent when the dispenser is left unused for any extended period of time, which is often the case.

Dispensers designed for use primarily with thin and watery liquids are also fairly intricate and expensive to manufacture and are not usually designed for insertion into containers as part of an automatic factory loading operation.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic, self-operating dispenser particularly adapted for use with thick viscous liquids such as detergents, and soaps. It is another object to provide a dispenser which is of simple construction and inexpensive to manufacture. It is a further object to provide .a dispenser which can either be inserted by hand by the consumer or be adapted for installation into a container, can or bottle during a factory container filling operation using automatic machinery.V

moving parts.

It is Vstill a further object of the present invention to provide another embodiment of dispenser wherein there is only one moving part and this part is at all times maintained in a leakproof bath of the liquid to be dispensed. It is also a further object to provide a dispenser which It is another object toiprovide a dispenser without any Y allows the user to pick up and pour from the container to give a quick and consistent measured dose, with the iiow of liquid being cut olias soon as the measured amount is delivered. i A v In the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments lof the present invention are shown and these embodiments' are'described in detail in the specification. However, it

the invention in order that others skilled inthe art may v fully understand therinvention, its principles and the application thereofand that-they may yembody it and adapt lCC it in numerous forms, each as maybe best suited to the FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of another dispenser l embodiment incorporating a vent tube and a plurality of liquid openings in the conduit and the dispenser sidewall; FIGURE 5 is a schematic view of the dispenser and container of, FIGURE l before filling the dispenser with liquid;

FIGURE 6 is a schematic View of the dispenser and container of FIGURE -5 ,inverted to ill the dispenser;

FIGURE 7 is aschernatic view of the dispenser and container of FIGURE 1 returned to an upright position with the cap removed from the container and the dispenser filled with a measured quantity of liquid;

FIGURE 8 is a schematic view of the dispenser and container of FIGURE l inverted to dispense a measured s dose; and

FIGURE 9 is a schematic view of the dispenser and container of FIGURE l still inverted with the measured dose dispensed and the flow of liquid cut oi. v Referring to the drawings and to FIGURE -l in particular, a container It) is shown which is fitted with a measured dosage dispenser I2. The container 10 may bepof any suitable material and construction? such as the weilj known plastic, metal or glass containers for holding heavy viscous solutions such as liquid detergents. i' VI n the illustrated Vembodiment of FIGURE l, the container ltis Y shown as being made of metal, but this illustration is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

The container 10 has a neck portion 14 and the dispenser 12 is mounted in the container 10 by beingiitted into the opening of neck 14.

A screw cap 16 is provided which closes oft the neck portion. In place of the cap 16 any suitable closure means may be used.

The illustrated cylindrical cont-ainer'li) includes a sidewall IS, a bottom wall 20 and an inclined upper wall 22. The inclined upper wall 22 joins the neck`14 at juncture In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1, the dispenser l 12 is cylindrical in shape and has a continuous sidewall 26, a top wall 28, an intermediate transverse partition 32 anda bottom wall 33, An opening 34 is provided in the transverse partition 32 and a second opening 35 is provided inthe top wall 28. A conduit 3S connects the openf ings 34 and 36. An opening 40 is provided inthe dispenser sidewall 26 and it is advantageously positioned i so that -it is near to but below the juncture 24 between I the dispenser I2' is inserted therein. If the dispenser is not forced `fitted or otherwise secured within'qthe neck 14 by other suitable means, e.g. adhesivesg'a shoulder 44-may be provided on the inner wall of the neck 14 land 'adapted to engage a iiange 46 extending outwardly from the disv penser 12. In actualus'a'ge, it is preferred .tof have the dispenser'securely set in place by suitable means to pre- Patented Dec. 29, 1964 shown in FIGURE 8.

. es vent its movement or disturbance when a measured dose is being obtained.

In order to obtain a measured dose, the container and dispenser are operated as shown in the schematic drawings of FIGURES through 9. As shown in FIGURE 5, after the container l@ has been tilled with liquid L and the dispenser 12 inserted into the container, the dispenser is empty. In Vorder toill thefdispenser i2, the container lil is inverted so that liquid L iiows from` the container through the sidewall dispenser opening 44B and into the upper dispenser compartment di formed by the top dispenser WallZS and Vthe transverse partition 32. Liquid flows into this upper dispenser compartment 41 until it has reached a level (in the inverted position of FIGURE 6) which closes off-dispenser sidewall opening 4i?. When the liquid Vlevel reaches this point, the tiow of air fromv the dispenser to the container Vis stopped., As

` aresult, no further. displacement of air takesrplace Vand no additional liquid L flows into the dispenser.

When the container 1% is returned to the upright position, as shown in'FIGURE 7, the liquid L which was trapped in the upper dispenser compartment 41 flows through the conduit opening 42 and into the conduit and thence through the partitionV opening 34 into a lower cap i6 is removed from the container and a measured dose ofliquid L mayrnow be obtained. To pour out the measured dose the container l@ and dispenser12 are inverted as shown in FIGURE 8. Upon inversion, the liquid L which was trapped in the lower dispenser compartment 4'3 flows through the opening 34, through Ythe conduit 38 and out through the top opening 36. To insure that the iiowidoes not pass out the conduit opening 42 it is preferable to invert the container (as positioned whichis" in FIGURES) in the direction of the arrow 4S In actual operation an arrow may be placed'on the container or the dispenser spout (see FIGURES 3 andV 4) to indicate to the user that the container should be poured in the proper direction in order to obtain a measured dose. As the measured dose of liquid is dispensed from the lower dispenser compartment, additional liquid enters the upper dispenser compartment through the opening 4t). About the time that the liquid level in the dispenser 12 has risen Lto close oiiithe opening 4t), the measpart-ment 43 will have iiowed out through the conduit 3S. As idescribed in relation to FIGURE 6 'the rising .of the Y ured dose previously stored inthe iower dispenser com- Y liquid level to cover the opening 4) will cause the fiow.

of further liquid into theV dispenserto cease. in FIGURE 9 when this liquidV level is reached there` is l no. further flow of liquid from the dispenser.

It is advantageous to maintain the openings 46 and 42 substantially on'the same side of a plane which passes through'the longitudinal axis of the dispenser. In this As shown` way it is assured that the liquid will ow into the disq penser and out of it in measured quantities.'

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other embodiments other than those shown in FIGURE l can be utilized and yet within the scope of the present inven` tion. In actual practice if itis desired the lowercompartment of the dispenser may comprise a narrow andfelonn gated extension of the conduit 38; Such a construction is shnwain FIGURE 2. in FIGURE 2 the upper portion of the dispenser'is similar to FIGUREk 1V but the lower portion comprises a narrow and deeply extending reservoir S0. In FIGURES stiil anotherembodiment is shown which 4is Vsimilarto FIGURE 2. In this embodiment ja vent or Y 4 tube 52 is provided which assists in the lling of the dispenser. The tube 52 extends below the sidewall opening di) and, therefore, will not permit liquid entering the inverted dispenser to overow through tube 52V and discharge by this means, since the liquid level stops rising when opening i0 is covered, as previously described. In addition, in this embodiment, a ball valve 54 may also be provided. The ball valve 54 is normally located at the bottom of the reservoir 50 and when a measured dose is dispensed the bail valve falls behind the outpouring liquid acting as a piston. When all the trapped liquid has iiowed from the reservoir, ,the `ball valve 54 becomes seated on a valve seat S6, thus providing a positive, dripl Yfree cutoff of liquid ilowing from the dispenser reservoir.

Ther use of such a ball Valve or other seal is advantageous where it is desirableito'have a fast, clean liquid cut-off Further, a series ofl replace v.the single conduit opening 42. These too are i circumferentially .placed and at thesame elevation.

lSuch a plurality of openings is advantageously used in Y conjunction with a vent or tube 62 which extends through the :partition 32 and downwardly through the bottom wall 33 of the lower dispenser compartment 43. The vent tube extends upwardly to the approximate elevation of the openings 58. The use of the vent 62 hastens the flow of liquid through the sidewall Yopenings 58 and, further,`

permits them to be of reduced size.

lFrom the =foregoing it may be seen that the objects set forth hereinbefore and other advantages which are apparent and inherent in the foregoing disclosure areaccomplished by the vpresent invention in dispensers. To those skilled in the art `other embodiments willbe evident which cannot be made ywithout' being within., the scope of the present invention asset forth in the subjoined claims. I

I claim: y

l. A dispensing device adapted to be used in combination `with a container to dispense heavy viscous liquids from said container in predetermined amounts, said dispensing device comprising a casing having a top' Wall,

idewalls, and a bottom wall, a transverse lpartitionl ex- Ytending across the casing and dividing said. easing into upper and lower compartmentsyan opening in the top 'casing wall and an opening in the transverse partition;V a

longitudinally orientated conduit connecting said openings, an opening in the side of said conduit and an opening in the sidewall of said casing, the sidewall opening being above the conduit opening when the dispensing ydevice is in an upright position, said container having a top opening with the dispensing device adapted to lbe posi-V tioned therein with ysaid dispensing device sidewall open-v ing being contained within said container and adjacen Y to said top opening in the container.-

2. A dispensing device as dened in claim 1 wherein the' opening in the conduitarid the opening in the side- Wall are positioned on theisarne side of a vertical planeV passedv through the lougitudinalfaxis of the dispensing device.

3. A dispensing device iasjdefined in claim 1 ywherein l 5 6 extending into the upper compartment to about the same References Cited in the le of this patent elevation as the opening in the sidewall. UNITED STATES PATENTS 6. A dispensing device adapted to dispense heavy vis- Y cous liquids from a container in predetermined amounts 9361334 Marcus@ Oct- 102 1909 as defined in claim 1 wherein the lower dispenser com- 5 387574 Watters -e OGL 2J 1945 pertinent is a downwardly directed extension of the con- 2197702'8 JOE@ Man 28 1961 du17t- A d d d ed l 6 d f FOREIGN PATENTS ispensmg evice as e n in c aim an v urther including a ball valve movzvbly located within said lsrha jlgryz conduit and lower dispenser compartment adapted to shut 10 1 070404 Franca July' 26 1954 off the flow of liquid when the dispenser is inverted. 

1. A DISPENSING DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE USED IN COMBINATION WITH A CONTAINER TO DISPENSE HEAVY VISCOUS LIQUIDS FROM SAID CONTAINER IN PREDETERMINED AMOUNTS, SAID DISPENSING DEVICE COMPRISING A CASING HAVING A TOP WALL, SIDEWALLS, AND A BOTTOM WALL, A TRANSVERSE PARTITION EXTENDING ACROSS THE CASING AND DIVIDING SAID CASING INTO UPPER AND LOWER COMPARTMENTS, AN OPENING IN THE TOP CASING WALL AND AN OPENING IN THE TRANSVERSE PARTITION, A LONGITUDINALLY ORIENTATED CONDUIT CONNECTING SAID OPENINGS, AN OPENING IN THE SIDE OF SAID CONDUIT AND AN OPENING IN THE SIDEWALL OF SAID CASING, THE SIDEWALL OPENING BEING ABOVE THE CONDUIT OPENING WHEN THE DISPENSING DEVICE IS IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION, SAID CONTAINER HAVING A TOP OPENING WITH THE DISPENSING DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED THEREIN WITH SAID DISPENSING DEVICE SIDEWALL OPENING BEING CONTAINED WITHIN SAID CONTAINER AND ADJACENT TO SAID TOP OPENING IN THE CONTAINER. 